Low back pain is something almost everybody experiences at some point in their life. And once we’ve suffered through some low back pain we usually want to know what caused the pain and what to do about ensuring it doesn’t happen again.

Last weekend I was in Tofino for a wedding which is a really beautiful place but not exactly a weekend getaway. Give yourself some more time if you go.

And if you plan on doing some surfing make sure to use a wetsuit. I went for a quick, maybe a few minutes, swim in the ocean and it was refreshing. I’m not sure you’d last more than 10-15 minutes in that water without a wetsuit though.

But I’m not writing you about road trips or swimming in the ocean.

Instead I want to you understand there are a few ways you can get better results when you train. Here they are.

3 Ways to Get the Best Results When You Workout.

#1 – Prioritize Your Weak Links

Most times when this is mentioned to us we think of bilateral differences such as my left arm is weaker than my right. But you can think of this in other ways as well.

For example after sitting for almost 12 hours in the car and on the ferry yesterday I noticed my left hip gets tighter than my right. And I notice more tension in my right trap than in my left.

You don’t always have to think of your weak link as being related to the loads you can lift. This can also be deficits in your range of motion and the quality of your movements.

Try and pin point the things that you are the most aware of and address these first.

#2 Focus on Your Posture During Your Most Challenging Movements

If I have difficulty performing push ups I am most likely going to compensate when I do them.

My hips might sag.

I might struggle to press my body off the ground.

And my head might sag as I lower myself to the ground.

All of these things are indications of my posture, and therefore my core, breaking down, during the lift.

Imagine yourself standing against a wall with your heels, hips, shoulders and head touching the wall. Now freeze yourself and place your body in a push up position.

Not many people maintain this when they do push ups.

Why does this matter?

You will better recruit your core musculature with proper posture and be less likely to put undue strain on your back.

#3 Don’t Forget to Breathe (properly)

Ever notice what happens when someone gets fatigued?

Their respirations increase, don’t they?

No big surprise there.

But what also happens is that the breathing goes from diaphragm-based to chest-based.

And as the chest starts to heave and fall the traps and neck muscles are triggered as well.

And this disrupts our ability to maintain our posture as well as our ability to maintain a stable position through our trunk.

So the take home messsage from all of this is that when you do address your weak links make sure you maintain ideal posture and then relax your breathing. Allow the breathing to happen from lower down rather than in your chest and you’ll be in a better position to address your deficits and get better results.

If you do then you are aware of the demand there is for good mobility through the shoulders, mid and upper back as well as the hips.

And we can prepare ourselves for performance in golf by the things we do off the course. This includes our resistance training program as well as a good stretch and recovery protocol.

But besides the things that will help us perform well in golf there are some things we can do which don’t help at all.

These would include:
* not following a resistance training program
* not stretching or foam rolling
* having poor posture
* improper and inadequate warm-up prior to playing

The third condition, having a poor posture, is the result of sitting for much of the day. This can be sitting in the car, at the desk, at school, in front of the tv, at the computer and unfortunately, after all this sitting, on a bike at the gym.

While many of the things which should improve our performance on the course should be done in between our play on the course there are still some things we can do to loosen up before our first shot of the day.

Especially if we’re running late.

Because if you think about it ideally we’d like to:
* hit some balls at the range
* figure out our stragegy for the hole if it’s a new course
* get any other instructions from the marshall

before we have to tee one up.

But that doesn’t always happen..

And if you find yourself running late for your tee time you’ll be:
* stressed
* with an elevated heart rate
* and tightened, restricted muscles

none of which helps you to hit a good first shot.

So what should you do if you only have 3 minutes before teeing off?

Check out the video below where I give you 4 short great stretches to loosen up your shoulders, mid and upper back as well as your hips in all planes before you hit your first shot.This will give you the best chance of success and minimize the potential for injury.

If you guys really like this topic and tip let me know it in the comments section.

10 plus comments and I’ll give the complete guid to warming up for golf.

Before I sign off I have to give a big shout out to my nephew Samuel who acted as cameraman for this video. He wanted everyone to know he shot the video and that he’s 8 years old. I think he did a pretty good job for his effort behind the camera. Maybe I’ll bring him back for future segments.